Monday 24 May 2010 03.49 EDT
First published on Monday 24 May 2010 03.49 EDT

The success of television shows overseas including Doctor Who, as well as the sale of formats of The Office, Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing have helped BBC Worldwide to record profits this year of around £140m.

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, disclosed the figure for 2009/10 in a speech during a conference at Chatham House in London, ahead of the publication of the annual report of the commercial arm of the corporation in July. The figure, described by the corporation yesterday as an "indicative guidance", is a significant improvement on last year's £103m.

The commercial division also owns BBC Magazines (Radio Times still sells 1m copies a week), licences brands such as Doctor Who to toy manufacturers, owns channels including BBC America, and produces shows for local markets, including its biggest US hit, Dancing with the Stars.

BBC Worldwide this month signalled its intent to produce more projects in-house instead of selling formats to Hollywood studios and hired Vlad Wolynetz, an American TV executive whose successes include the advertising drama Mad Men, to help lead the effort.

The History Channel in the US recently announced plans to show an American version of Top Gear, which will be co-produced by the BBC. The Dancing with the Stars format, known as Strictly Come Dancing in Britain, has been sold to 30 countries, while versions of The Weakest Link are shown in 60 countries.

The rebooted Doctor Who continues to be one of Worldwide's biggest money-spinners. According to BBC Worldwide, the drama has been sold to more than 50 territories, with over 3.3m DVDs and more than 7m action figures sold in 2009 alone.